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On Saturday, the Glendale Desert Dogs faced the Salt River Rafters at Salt River Fields in their seventeenth and eighteenth games of the Arizona Fall League, respectively.
Desert Dogs 6, River Rafters 3
- Austin Gomber (SP): 5 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K
Behind a big day from their center fielder and starting pitcher, the Desert Dogs defeated the River Rafters on Saturday by a 6-3 final score.
Desert Dogs center fielder Andrew Stevenson of the Nationals’ organization went 3-for-4 at the plate with a couple of doubles and three RBIs. During the regular season, the left-handed-hitting Stevenson batted .276 across 529 at-bats with a total of 36 extra-base hits, including 26 doubles, ten triples, and three home runs.
Stevenson and the Desert Dogs did their damage on behalf of Javier Salas of the Brewers, who was tagged for three runs in as many innings. With the subpar outing, Salas saw his statistics for the Arizona Fall League fall south, as he now has allowed ten earned runs in 9 2/3 innings this fall. His struggles have been linked to his lack of command, a problem that has been evident with the right-hander who walked 51 batters in 21 games during the regular season. The high walk rate has only grown thus far, as Salas has issued eight walks in four AFL starts.
Cardinals Austin Gomber took the mound for the Desert Dogs on Saturday and continued what has been a fantastic year on the mound for the 22-year-old lefty. With five innings of one-run ball on Saturday, Gomber picked up his third win in as many decisions in the AFL and lowered his ERA during the exhibition season to 2.12. This year, Gomber spent time with at the Double-A and Triple-A levels of the Cardinals’ farm system and managed a 2.69 ERA and 116 punchouts across 21 games and starts.
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Following an off day on Sunday, the Desert Dogs will take on the Surprise Saguaros on Monday at 1:35 p.m. CT. The starting pitchers for the game have not been announced at this time. All Cardinals position players and pitchers except Gomber did not appear in Saturday’s game, so look for Carson Kelly, Paul DeJong, Harrison Bader, Corey Littrell, Ryan Sherriff, or Rowan Wick to lace up for the ‘Dogs on Monday.